Rear entry ski boots comprise an upper mounted on a shell base. The upper comprises an anterior and a posterior portion surrounding the lower leg of the skier. The posterior portion of the upper is journalled on the shell base around a lower transverse axis so that the posterior portion of the upper is adapted to pivot toward the rear, thus creating a sufficiently large opening in the upper to allow the skier to place his foot into the boot, from the rear thereof. These ski boots are provided with a flexible element, such as a cable, to tighten one of the two portions of the upper against the other in a manner so as to obtain a firm tightening of the upper around the lower leg of the skier. Another flexible tightening element is positioned inside the boot and extends above the instep of the foot of the skier. When this element is tensioned or stretched it presses the foot towards the bottom and towards the rear of the boot. This latter flexible element thus assures the tightening of the foot in the zone known as the "short perimeter of the heel".
In the rear entry ski boot described in European Pat. No. 0053 340, the two flexible tightening elements for tightening the upper on the lower leg and for internally holding down the foot in the boot are connected to a manipulation element mounted on the exterior of the boot, at the rear of the posterior portion of the upper. Once the foot is engaged in the boot, manipulation of the manipulation element exerts a traction simultaneously on the two tightening elements. One thus obtains simultaneously, by action on a single pivotable lever, the tightening of the upper on the lower leg of the skier and an internal tightening of the foot in the boot in the zone of the short perimeter of the heel. As a result, this ski boot can be used either only totally closed or totally loose. However has become clear that it is desirable, in order to increase the comfort of skiers, to tighten the upper on the lower leg of the skier while the foot in not held down in the boot, and to hold down the foot in the boot while the upper is not tightening around the lower leg of the skier. This ski boot cannot perform these functions because the tightening of the upper on the lower leg of the skier causes the foot to be held down in the boot and vice a versa.
Thus, there is a need for a ski boot in which the upper can be tightened around the lower leg of the skier independently of the tightening of the foot in the boot.